Happy Valentine's Day!!
I Corinthians 13:7b, "[Love] endureth all things."
So, if I have any readers left, you all have ENDURED my 14 days series on LOVE this month ... or perhaps you've just ignored it??! ;) Believe me, I'm not touting myself as some great Bible teacher or marriage counselor --- I know my limitations. That's why I've brought along Martha Peace who wrote The Excellent Wife
and Bible commentator Matthew Henry
into my study. In the end, this study on LOVE has been more for ME than anyone else - that's for sure. You may not even be able to begin to relate with my conclusions or explanations. I don't know ... and that's OK. If you did follow along even a little bit, I hope you found my conclusions to be biblical and maybe even a little insightful??!
and Bible commentator Matthew Henry into my study. In the end, this study on LOVE has been more for ME than anyone else - that's for sure. You may not even be able to begin to relate with my conclusions or explanations. I don't know ... and that's OK. If you did follow along even a little bit, I hope you found my conclusions to be biblical and maybe even a little insightful??!As I wrap up my study, I think that the statement that love ENDURES all things wraps up all the other lessons into one big conclusion: to be more like Jesus, to have good relationships, we MUST faithfully endure the things that God allows into our lives with love. Martha Peace reminded me that JESUS endured (Hebrews 12:2) THE CROSS, despising the shame. I don't think DESPISING the shame here means he hated and resented having to die for our sins, I think it meant that He gave no thought to Himself during His shame. It was the ultimate selfless act of love.
Martha Peace also advises that "FEELING love ... begins only after you've been thinking and doing loving acts ... Putting on love does not happen automatically. It is the greatest commandment. It is the character trait you should work on the hardest."
A long time ago, I had a discussion with my husband about love - I think in the context of people breaking up and marriages falling apart. His statement was that love was a choice. That doesn't sound very romantic, but romance can fade and feelings can go away; a determination to continue to love anyway is a conscious choice each day. It is what we do when the ordinary sets in and life gets mundane and dirty socks need to be washed and kids need to be taken to school. Love is a choice when feelings are hurt and words are misunderstood. Love is a choice when expectations are let down and disappointment or loneliness creeps in. And like Mrs. Peace said, it is also a command from our Lord Himself. God has told us to love Him, wives to love their husbands, to love our neighbors, and to love our enemies ... He has promised - as it says in I Corinthians 13:8:
Charity [love] never faileth.
2 comments:
It's like teaching, Conny ~ YOU will have profited the most from this study because it was you who prepared and presented it. I have appreciated your efforts to share with the rest of us! ♥
I have also appreciated your study on love. Sorry I haven't had much time to comment lately (I'm finally trying to buckle down and get some homeschooling done!) but I have read them! Thanks!
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